Pivot mountings for a kneeler rest or similarly mounted article



April 1, 1958 E. B. MORGAN ETAL 2,828,809 PIVOT MOUNTINGS FOR A KNEELER REST OR SIMILARLY MOUNTED ARTICLE Filed Dec. 28, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l ddddd h Pub 1 "r' l f l--, H

I I l I l ll I N VENTOR Eruiny B. .Moryan Ray A. Hayden ATTORNEY Aprll 1958 E. B. MORGAN EI'AL 2,828,80

PIVOT ummzs FOR A KNEELER REST OR ILARLY MOUNTED .ARTICLE Filed Dec. 28. 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 9,5 Fig 6 INVENTOR li ringfl Mzgaw w I474. Hayden M0 fl ATTORNEY United State atent O PIVOT MOUNTINGS FOR A KNEELER REST R SIMILARLY MOUNTED ARTECLE Erving B. Morgan and Ray A. Hayden, Grand Rapids, Mich, assignors to American Seating Company, Grand Rapids, Micln, a corporation of New Jersey Application December 28, 1954, Serial No. 478,093 2 Claims. (Cl. 155-171) The present invention relates to pivot mountings for a kneeler rest or similarly mounted article, and more particularly to the type of kneeler rest which is pivotally mounted underneath and to the rear of a church pew for the use of occupants of the next pew to the rear. This application is a continuation-in-part of our co-pending application Serial No. 372,752, now abandoned, filed August 6, 1953.

The primary objects of the invention are to provide a kneeler rest of the type above indicated which may be swung upwardly to a non-use position beneath the church pew on which it is mounted or may be swung downwardly to a use position extending rearwardly of said pew, in which latter position it may conveniently be knelt upon by the occupants of a pew to the rear of the pew on which the kneeler rest is mounted; to provide an improved pivot device for mounting a kneeler rest on a pew as above indicated or for mounting any elongated element for swinging movement between spaced, fixed supports; to provide such an improved pivot device which is especially noiseless in operation, economical and durable in construction and easy to install and to adjust; and to provide such a device which is so constructed as to be self-compensating for slight variations in the distance between the kneeler rest and the pew ends on which it is mounted.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a rear perspective view of a church pew with a pair of kneeler rests secured thereto;

Figure 2 is a sectional view through one of said kneeler rests, taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of parts thereof taken on line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary outside elevational View of parts thereof as seen from the line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of a clip member of the pivot assembly, shown per se; and

Figure 6 is an end elevational view of said ber per se.

Referring now in detail to these drawings, the church pew shown in Figure 1 comprises a length of pewing 10 secured to and supported by a plurality of spaced, fixed upright supporting elements. As shown these supporting elements comprise end supports l1, 12 of a decorative type and a functional middle support 13. An element generally designated 14 adapted to serve as a kneeler rest extends between each of the pew end supports 11 and 12 and the middle support 13, these kneeler rests 14 being mounted for swinging movement to a raised position of non-use beneath the pew as indicated at the right of Figure 1 and to a lowered position of use extending rearwardly of the pew as indicated at the left of Figure 1, in which latter position the kneeler rest may be knelt upon by occupants of a pew disposed in the rear of the pew shown.

Each kneeler rest comprises a horizontal kneeler bar 15 and parallel kneeler ends 15, 17 extending laterally clip mem- See from the opposite ends of the kneeler bar 15 adjacent the pew supports. The kneeler bar 15 may desirably be upholstered as by means of a sponge rubber pad 18 and an upholstery cover 19 disposed over the pad 18 and secured to the opposite or under surface of the kneeler bar by any suitable means such as tacks (not shown) The pivot mountings whereby the kneeler rest is swingably mounted on the upright pew supports comprise brackets 20 secured to the pew supports by means of wood screws 21, and other brackets 22 secured to the ends 16 17 of the kneeler rest by means of wood screws 23. The brackets 20 and brackets 22 are of identical form thus to reduce the cost of manufacture of these parts. The arms 24 of brackets 20 extend inwardly and rearwardly-downwa'rdly, while the arms 25 of brackets 22 extend outwardly and forwardly-upwardly and each arm 25 is juxtaposed between the adjacent pew support and the arm 24 of the bracket 20 secured to said support.

A rawhide friction washer 26 is interposed between each pair of juxtaposed bracket arms 24:, 25, and a bolt 27 has its head disposed inwardly of said pair of arms 24, 25 and has its shank extending outwardly through aligned bearings in the bracket arms and in the friction washer 26. A nut 28 is threaded on the outer end of each bolt 27, and a clip 29 having a central opening therethrough is interposed between each nut 28 and the arm 25 of the bracket 22 on the adjacent kneeler end. Each clip 29 has inwardly extending lugs 3t? which key the clip to the adjacent bracket arm 25 and outwardly extending lugs 31 which key the clip to the adjacent nut 28.

A spring lock washer 32 circumscribes the shank of each bolt 27 adjacent the head thereof, and a plastic washer 33 of such material as polyamide resin (Nylon) having long-wearing and self-lubricating properties is interposed between the lock washer 32 and the arm 24 of the bracket 20 on the adjacent pew support.

it will be seen that when the kneeler rest is swung between its raised non-use position and its lowered use position, it is cushioned in such movements by the friction washer 26 which is tensionally held between the bracket arms 24 and 25 by the spring lock washer 32. During such movements of the kneeler rest, bracket arm 25, bolt 27, nut 28, clip 29 and lock washer 32 all move in unison, clue to the keying of the clip 29 to both the nut 28 and the bracket arm 25. The self-lubricating washer 33 prevents any binding between the head of bolt 27, lock washer 32 and the stationary arm 24 of bracket 26 on the pew support, which binding would otherwise tend to unscrew the bolt 27 from the nut 28.

Adjustment of the pivot assembly to the desired tension is made at the time the kneeler rest is installed on the pew ends, such adjustment being greatly facilitated by the fact that the head of bolt 27 is disposed inwardly of the assembly so that a screwdriver can readily be inserted in the kerf of the bolts head. Subsequent adjustment which may be necessitated by wear of the rawhide friction washer 26 can be made in the same manner but it will likely be found necessary at only infrequent intervals due to the long-wearing properties of the nylon washer 33, which also contributes to the noiseless operation of the pivot mounting. With the present pivot mounting it is not necessary that a lubricant such as oil be used, and thus there is no interference with the quiet and efiicient operation of the assembly which could be caused by a gummy mass that might form by mixing of the oil with any finishing material applied to the assembly.

It will thus be seen that the invention provides a quiet, durable, easily adjustable and efiicient pivot mounting for a kneeler rest or for any similarly mounted article, and while but one specific embodiment of the invention has been herein shown and described it will be understood that numerous details thereof may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of the invention as the same is defined by the following claims.

We claim:

1. Hinge connections for swingably mounting a kneeler rest on spaced pew supports, said kneeler rest extending between said pew supports and comprising a horizontal kneeler bar and parallel kneeler ends extending laterally from the opposite ends of said kneeler bar adjacent the pew supports respectively, said hinge connections comprising: brackets adapted to be secured to said pew supports and provided with arms extending inwardly and rearwardly; other brackets adapted to be secured to the parallel kneeler ends and each having an arm extending outwardly and forwardly and juxtaposed between the adjacent pew support and the arm of the bracket secured thereto; a friction washer interposed between each pair of juxtaposed bracket arms; a pair ofbolts each having its head disposed inwardly of a pair of juxtaposed bracket arms and having its shank extending outwardly through aligned hearings in said pair of arms and the friction washer therebetween; a nut threaded on the outer end of each bolt; and a clip interposed between each nut and the arm of the bracket on the adjacent kneeler end, said clip having inwardly extending lugs keying it to said arm and outwardly extending lugs keying it to said nut; said kneeler rest being thus mounted on the pew supports for swinging movement rearwardly and downwardly to a use position resting on the floor, and for swinging movement forwardly and upwardly to a non-use position between the pew supports, said latter swinging movement being checked by contact of the arms of the brackets on the kneeler ends with the arms of the brackets on the pew supports.

2. Hinge connections according to claim 1 characterized by having a lock washer circumscribing each bolt's shank adjacent its head,'and a self-lubricating washer interposed between said lock washer and the arm of the bracket on the adjacent pew support.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 612,135 Linn Oct. 11, 1898 1,283,775 Howe Nov. 5, 1918 1,908,215 Berge May 9, 1933 1,967,104 Sorrow July 17, 1934 2,288,540 Olson June 30, 1942 2,400,666 Tinnerman May 21,- 1946 2,593,177 Patterson Apr. 15, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 593,975 Great Britain Oct. 30, 1947 608,422 Great Britain Sept. 15, 1948 

